


Dance with me

by EllieStormfound



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Whump, Eskel Has Feelings (The Witcher), Eskel Has Self-Esteem Issues (The Witcher), Eskel Whump (The Witcher), I always forget what the ship name is sorry, Jaskier | Dandelion Has Feelings, Jeskel, M/M, Protective Jaskier | Dandelion, Self-Esteem Issues, Soft Eskel (The Witcher), jaskel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 17:34:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29336121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EllieStormfound/pseuds/EllieStormfound
Summary: In which Eskel has self-esteem issues and Jaskier tries to help him.
Relationships: Eskel/Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia/Jaskier | Dandelion
Comments: 23
Kudos: 64





	Dance with me

**Author's Note:**

> CW: Hurt/Comfort, this is one of my sad little fics. Eskel talks about feeling unworthy of affection, feeling unlovable, of being too much/too monstrous and Jaskier tries to convince him of the opposite

Jaskier plopped down on the bench next to Eskel. The witcher took a swig of ale and nodded at the bard.  
“Not in the mood to dance?” Jaskier asked.   
Eskel grunted and shrugged. He eyed the bard from the side. It had been a pleasant surprise to run into him a few days ago on the path and they had decided to travel together for a while. 

Jaskier bumped his shoulder into the witcher’s and asked, “why don’t you want to join in on the fun?”  
Eskel snorted. “I’m...I don’t think people actually want me to.”  
Jaskier turned his head to stare at him and frowned.

“You’ve been invited several times.”  
“They are just polite,” Eskel said, shrugging. He looked down at his hands.  
When Jaskier stayed silent, he turned his head to look at him and pulled the corners of his mouth up in an unconvincing smile.

“You are their hero,” Jaskier said as he looked at him closely, “you saved them from the wicked noonwraith.”  
Eskel shrugged, “yeah, maybe.”  
Jaskier could feel the movement where his shoulder was still pressed against Eskel’s.  
“But…?” Jaskier began.  
“But what?” Eskel grunted. The warmth of Jaskier’s shoulder against his was somewhat nice but he was tense.   
“I sense a but,” Jaskier said with another playful shove against the witcher.  
Eskel huffed, “not my but.”

“Haha,” Jaskier said unamused. Eskel was now pointedly looking away from him and at the merry crowd of dancing villagers.  
“I don’t want to impose…” Eskel began, so quiet that Jaskier had a hard time understanding him over the music and the noises of the villagers, “I don’t want to make them uncomfortable.”

Jaskier stayed silent for a moment and eyed him closely.  
Then he asked, “why would they be uncomfortable?”  
Eskel leaned forward and rubbed his face with his hands.  
“Jaskier, look at me,” he said in a heavy voice, “the scars, the eyes… - people normally flinch away from me, I’m a mutant, barely better than the monsters they pay me to kill.”

Jaskier’s heart broke a bit as he heard that and the bad experiences the witcher implied. He thought about this for a moment before he said, “but these people here, they like you.”  
Eskel just shrugged and shook his head.

Jaskier had the urge to hug the witcher, but he knew that Eskel was not always comfortable being hugged. So he just kept leaning his shoulder against his and said, “do you trust me?”

Eskel frowned and hummed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Do you believe me, when I tell you that I would love to dance with you?”

Eskel swallowed. “I don’t...please…”  
“Sorry,” Jaskier replied, “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, I just want you to know that I like you, genuinely and a lot.”

“Jaskier, I appreciate what you want to do, but it’s not...it doesn’t change anything,” the witcher replied in a quiet and hoarse voice.   
Jaskier was silent but after a moment he sprang up and said, “come, let’s go somewhere more quiet.”

Eskel sighed and looked up at him. He had learned by now that it was practically impossible to stop Jaskier when he had something in mind. So he rolled his eyes and got up.

Jaskier was walking in front of him. He wasn’t as small as his cleverly tailored doublet and high waisted trousers wanted you to believe but he was still quite a bit shorter and slimmer than Eskel, probably only half his weight. Eskel shook his head. 

Behind a barn Jaskier stopped. No other people were in sight and the sounds of the feast were just a quiet background noise.   
Eskel had shoved his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

“What is the matter, darling?” Jaskier asked him softly, “everything went fine with the noonwraith, the alderman paid you a bonus and the villagers are throwing a feast in your honour. So why the sour mood?” 

Eskel breathed in deeply.  
“I…” he began after a moment, but had to stop to collect his thoughts, “how can I…” he tried again.  
Jaskier was still looking at him - expectantly but without pressure.   
Very quiet Eskel eventually said, “how can I trust them not to shy away or mock me when I join the dance? I’m just...too much...too big, too many scars, too monstrous... It’s better not to try in the first place.”

Jaskier’s heart broke a second time this evening.  
“Oh Eskel,” he breathed, “would it be okay if I hug you?”

The witcher combed his fingers through his hair before he exhaled audibly.   
“Do you actually want that?” he asked, looking down at his feet.  
“Yes, I do,” Jaskier said softly. 

When the witcher finally nodded, Jaskier closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms around Eskel’s waist. The witcher let his arms hang down, his posture tense so Jaskier whispered, “it’s okay, you can hug me back.”

Slowly and carefully Eskel put his arms around Jaskier.

“Usually people don’t like to touch me,” Eskel whispered against Jaskier’s hair.  
Jaskier pressed himself a bit closer and said, “I do, I like to touch you.”  
“I don’t understand why,” Eskel said, his voice thick with emotions, “look at you. You’re so...handsome and I am...” His throat was dry.

He gulped and continued, “and your own appearance - it is important to you.”  
“It is, but that’s part of my job,” Jaskier said, “I get more coin if I look handsome.”

“And your...company is usually more...attractive.”

This time Jaskier huffed, “first of all, people assume I’m only with the...conventionally attractive people they see me with.”  
“And second,” Jaskier said, his voice muffled from where he pressed his face into Eskel’s neck, “you are very attractive…”  
The witcher snorted and replied, “am not. My scars...”  
“Your scars speak of your bravery and of fights you’ve won.”

Eskel grunted, “I’m too big, too much.”  
“You’re not too much,” Jaskier replied, “I love the weight of your arms around me - I feel so safe in your embrace.”

Jaskier could feel Eskel’s arms tighten around him and he smiled softly.  
They stood like this for a while, hugging and enjoying the feeling of the other.

“So,” Jaskier said eventually, “shall we go dancing now?”   
He had untangled himself from the embrace, taken a step back and offered his hand with a hopeful smile.

Eskel sighed but took his hand and said, “but only one dance.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Find me on tumblr [EllieStormfound](https://elliestormfound.tumblr.com/)


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